@@Reoh0z Uhhh… In general that is a correct and valid response but in this case… Are you worried about the DM out cartography-ing you? No judgement just… interesting thing to worry about.
@@OverkillDM The DM's ethereal avatar being summoned and creating an incorrect map of the dungeon using Minor Illusion so they get lost. That's something I often worry about.
We use this primarily for RP and strategy purposes, "Here's a perfectly carved bust of our target." "Here's what the king sounds like." "Here's a 3D map with topography based on what I saw through my familiar's eyes, the enemies are Here, Here, aaaand Here" "This is what the creature we fought looked like." As a DM I'll sometimes run checks to see how accurate the caster can make it, but overall it's a handy tool and stays useful all the way through :)
Minor illusion is also a fun way to flair your caster. What kind of occluders do you use? Walls of bones? An impenetrable tangle of roses and thorns? Or, yes, a crate.
Instead of a crate, I usually have my character make a rising up motion with their hands and make the illusion a 5 ft cube of whatever the ground is made of. Now it looks like I used something like Mold Earth or something to raise the ground up to create a wall.
You sort of hinted at one of my favorite combinations, Silent Image plus (auditory) Minor Illusion, on a Warlock. Being able to cast Silent Image at-will is an under-appreciated feature, especially when buffed up by auditory illusions. Silent Image can move, is larger and isn't limited to objects. Without Minor Illusion though, it's not nearly as strong.
@@TreantmonksTemple the issue I've had playing it is that both silent image and minor illusion take actions, so dm would not let me sync the image and sound convincingly. You ever encounter this?
@@I..cast..fireball The spell states that when you cast it as a voice "The sound continues unabated throughout the duration, or you can make discrete sounds at different times before the spell ends." I'd say that it works if you cast the cantrip first then on your next turn you cast the silent image, now you can use BOTH of them together since the minor illusion does NOT require concentration to keep the effect going after it being cast, and you can use the "you can make discrete sounds at different times before the spell ends" part to synchronize the sound with the silent image while you control the silent image with your action.
@@khruler I agree with you. It's just not all DMs do. Mine says the discrete sounds need to be the same sound that I specified when cast. So I could yell "help" over and over again, but can not hold a conversation.
Problem is there are a lot of competing invocations to take. Like mask of many faces, voice of the chain master, agonizing blast, repelling blast, tomb of Levistus, eldritch mind. All arguably more important than silent image at will, which uses your concentration, so therefore you can't debuff the enemy with hex or cause fear (or better spells at higher spell slots)
Add holograms and pyrotechnics to finish too. Performance didn't get the reaction you wanted? Boost the applause noise toward the back of the room or sides.
My bards often like a big band sound. No need to limit the effect to one "instrument" I think, at least by RAW. A band is a sound, as is an orchestra. Listen to the sound of a recorded orchestra emitted by a single speaker. It's all just sound waves. A CD or MP3 doesn't have tracks for separate instruments like a recording studio. A single speaker can only make one sound at a time. The minor illusion spell says: "... or you can make discrete sounds at different times before the spell ends." Sounds almost like the definition of music. Consider too, would you allow the sound of rats squeaking and scurrying? Bats flapping, people running, weapons clashing, an audience murmuring, or jingle bells on a horse. If any of those collective nouns are ok, then why not a band? The volume is limited to a lion's roar, but that's ok. YDMV - Your DM may vary.
I recently used minor illusion for something I thought was pretty clever. I wanted to prevent a player from getting counterspelled (I was doing a combat test) so I had them create a spot of cover, hide behind it, and then cast their spell while obscured by the illusion. Since the other caster couldn't see them, they couldn't counterspell them.
I haven't tried this tactic yet, but I'm waiting to get the chance. Cast fog cloud (preferably at a higher level to make a truly massive cloud). Then use minor illusion to duplicate the sounds of my party members in combat. I might be able to misdirect enemies who can't see their way through the fog.
That works in the imagination but not by raw rules. Fog cloud doesn't mean enemies don't know where the opponents are. They have to take the hide action.
@@jrg305 Imagine if you had no fog cloud, but used major image for an illusory duplicate of yourself. The enemy can see you right there, but they can also see the illusion and might go for it first. In the blindness of a fog cloud, an audio illusion would be good enough to act as that duplicate.
@@jrg305 It means they know where the opponents were. They don't know where they are. I absolutely believe you could use fog cloud and then misdirect them through the fog until they come out the other side and find nothing. It's literally the magicians smoke trick, and figuratively done on steroids (since you hear your targets on the other side of the fog and don't realize it's an illusion till you pass through the fog.
If you're fighting an enemy with Counterspell, could you create an illusion of your own voice casting the verbal component of a high-level spell to try to trick them to waste their spell slots?
Counterspell specifies that you take the reaction when you see a creature casting a spell, so a strict raw reading means that they can't blow a counterspell since your minor illusion has already resolved
@@veras7927 Or when you HEAR it. You must be aware of a spell being CAST. Deception should suffice, but minor illusion will let you roll with advantage.
After the paladin dropped and the fighter drug her out of a room filled with baddies, my gnome warlock brought up the rear by retreating down a hallway and yelling “WALL OF POISON THORNS!” And used minor illusion to create a thorny bush. It not only granted cover but it served as an obstacle. Out of combat, he was constantly casting minor illusions to help illustrate his stories. I colored it as “paintings” he would create that hovered in the air, or small figurines on a board. The group called them my “PowerPoint” presentations :)
An illusion of a wall with a loophole in it to see out of and fire arrows "through" could work for a player to hide behind for cover. Visually this makes sense to give an enemy attacker a visual disadvantage on the attack, but it would actually do nothing physically. So if the -5 to hit from 3/4 cover makes an attacker miss, it seems completely wrong, as an arrow would just go straight through the illusion. This is addressed in the DMG page 272 HITTING COVER When a ranged attack misses a target that has cover you can use this optional rule (yes I know this is an optional rule, keep reading) to determine whether the cover was struck by the attack. First, determine whether the attack roll would have hit the protected target without cover. If the attack roll falls within a range low enough to miss the target but high enough to strike the target if there had been no cover, the object used for cover is struck. With that said, if the object being struck is an illusion it would not be struck and it would just hit the person hiding behind illusionary cover. As a player I want so much to use Minor Illusion to allow my Gloomstalker Echo Knight to hide behind an illusionary bush will hit arrows all come out of his echo somewhere else. As a DM Minor Illusion will never give an AC bonus for cover, only a visual advantage or disadvantage. Chris, I was wondering how do you feel about this? My thought was an enemy attacker would have disadvantage from visual obscurement , but the player behind the illusionary cover would not receive any bonus to AC because the cover is just an illusion. Once the enemy hits the player, they would see through the illusion and no longer have disadvantage. Additionally, I don't think an Echo Knight who is concealed, using a bow but having the arrow come from it's Echo should have it's position reveled. I know this would be very overpowered being able to attack with advantage every turn, but logically there is no reason there position would be compromised.
Another strange thing with RAW for minor illusion creating creatures. It technically can't create a creature but I can create a corpse of a creature, and say that corpse is of a creature that just freshly died of poison or something indistinguishable from the outside, now they look identical to a creature but technically aren't. No need for wax or stone versions of creatures now.
Here's a three part combo I came up with, though it does require a 10th level wizard: Glyph of Warding (upcast to 5th level). Effect, Spell Glyph: Wall of Force (5th level spell) creating a hemispherical dome. part three, Minor Illusion of something the target wants. Here's an example of this in action: A local Baron has overheard rumors that a group of adventurers are out for his head. He's worried but his court mage has an Idea (See setup above) The Illusion in this case would be the shape of someone lying in the Baron's bed. When the assassins approach the trap is sprung, sealing them inside the dome created by the Wall of Force. The Wizard drop the Illusion on the bed, to instead create the sound of an alarm bell.
Also useful outside combat. Showing maps, people & monsters, recorded messages, marking traps for others (there's your help action!). Used in bardic performances to show still screens of the scenes your describing or singing about.
Great video! I play a Shadow Monk and have been using Minor Illusion mainly for playing pranks and giving other characters exact visuals of things I've seen, but I dramatically underestimated the combat potential of this spell!
You should note that Intelligence is a monster dump stat, as is proficiency in investigation. Thus the chance for the foe to fail the check only gets better with your prof and Int. A CR 15 monster will likely have a 13 Int (+1) vs your DC 18.
I feel like making illlusory terrain will almost always be useful to break LoS. A sorcerer can use Quicken to cast a levelled spell as well as make cover with Minor Illusion all the way to endgame
One thing I have started using minor illusion for is what I nicknamed the MOM map it is me using a familiar to scout then projecting a minor illusion for a map to show a map or hallowgram. Another way I have used it is to cause a glow effect on me during an interrogation to intimidate
I'd say for Shadow Monks, this video is awesome. Since they don't necessarily damage spike all the time, I like the idea of giving a companion advantage, or a "smoke bomb" to hide them xD Or even just for the stealth applications, it ought to keep the same utility throughout levels
your point that minor illusion at higher levels loses its "scaling" or effectiveness doesn't seem to make sense. True it doesn't do more, and your enemies might be more clever or have alternate senses, but against lets say high level grog like characters, it should still do what it has always done.
I agree about scaling. It's arguably the most powerful cantrip. It's undeniably the most utilitarian and versatile from the standpoint of battlefield control. However, it's more about the caster's thoughtfulness and the DM's interpretation that can make it so good, especially at higher levels.
I think the idea behind it being less effective is more along the lines that you will simply generally have better options to choose from the higher level you get. The kind of granular advantages that it can give you at a low level are great when you can't deal much more than 5 or 6 damage, but when your spells are dealing significantly more damage, those granular advantages start to lose their luster. The spell still does what it's meant to do, but you're using an action you could instead be using to kill a bad guy. It definitely depends on the situation.
@@rageoftyrael totally agree with this. In combat, not your best move. I guess was thinking of getting the drop on enemies and preserving spell slots, especially when resting is dicey. As a cantrip, it's always in your back pocket. It still has so much utility, but I haven't used it at higher levels to give a fair review.
Very interesting video! I think some GMs might see these tactics as exploitative, but this is really fun, and fits excellently with an arcane trickster type :)
The caster only needs to move 5 feet up or down to have line of sight on the target unless they used the hide action. The image would provide cover against ranged attacks in that scenerio, which is +5 to ac. The Dmg covers this on the chapter 'running on a grid' .
I mostly use Minor Illusion to mimic fireballs in front of a Target's face or, when shopping, have an arrow point down toward my 2'7" forest gnome when the salesman can't see me over the counter.
@@LeMayJoseph It's a psych out to cause a panicked reaction. Nothing says it's static, it's just in a 5' cube, so a fireball appearing 5' in front of the target and ending in its face should be startling.
@@robinthrush9672 nothing says its static, but other illusion spells say that the illusion can move. Therefore, since minor illusion doesn't say it can move, it can't move Also, fireball isn't an object. Minor illusion can only create objects
@@crownlexicon5225 Other illusion spells say that they can be moved "to another location", meaning outside the 5' cube Minor Illusion is stuck in. The only part that moderately supports you here is that "it can be altered to appear to move to that location naturally". Spells usually say what they "can't" do and things not specified are up to the DM at worst. Minor Illusion says an image can't create light, sound, smell, or be touched and other non-offensive illusions that can create sensory effect like heat or cold can't produce them strong enough to cause harm. Fireball IS an object; it's just produced by magic. It can be seen and it can be touched, especially when it explodes. And I've seen people create real-life fireballs, which would be object regardless of some sort of "if it's magic, it's not an object" loop hole.
At 9th level, you get animate objects. Use minor illusion to give either the 10 coins obscurement, or if the blindsense of the objects sees through illusions, you can obscure the enemy. This will give advantage/disadvantage for all your animated objects. An obscured enemy may need a new cantrip each round BUT an obscured zone may need a hide roll (advantage) each round by each object.
I can see Minor Illusion blocking line of sight to a Small creature (so helping that halfling rogue is nice party synergy), but if that sorcerer is a Medium creature, then a crate that's a maximum of 5 ft high will never block an enemy's line of sight to a creature that's taller than 5 ft (which I believe all Medium creatures are). I could agree with heavily obscure or three-quarters cover, (or lightly obscure/half cover for the exceptionally tall Medium creatures) but not completely blocking line of sight. Also don't forget your allies need to interact with the illusion and discover it to be one, unless you have a way of letting all of your allies know what you're doing that alerts none of your enemies to it. Also keep in mind that unless you move out from the illusion's cover/obscurement, enemies will instantly realize the object is an illusion from your attacks passing through it.
Minor illusion in combat can work as a poor man’s darkness spell as well, cast a black box on the enemy’s square and for a round the creature is effectively blinded, it can’t see other creatures outside the box if creatures react with the box they can see the creature inside and attack with advantage, the creature inside would have disadvantage vs effects it can’t see until it reacted with the box.
@@georgequilitz8530 you can make it for most things where they aren't directly touching it till they move which should last till their turn. of course if they are tall they can see a bit around their feet
If all of a sudden I couldn't see I'd either reach out to feel my surroundings which would dispel the effect and/or move 5'. I'd say a mook would be no different. Either way this wouldn't have the desired effect. At worst they'd use 5' of movement.
Minor Illusion is something that is quite good for a Rogue to nab, and it's worth it for a Magic Initiate choice even at higher levels. Letting the rogue book it and use illusions to disappear is a good way to survive long enough to heal up or set up an ambush even at higher levels. Getting advantage on someone when they aren't expecting it can be a nasty way to play some games there. And I've found that a better option for a minor illusion to have a target pop up for someone is a suit of full plate armor or a floating weapon, animated objects are common enough that they can be a scary thing.
It's worth noting that these crates/walls can only be maximum 5 ft tall, so you have to demean yourself a bit by staying hunched over if you want to count as unseen behind one. If you're showing over the top, I don't know how I'd rule it. Maybe cover, except that cover reflects not only the difficulty in aiming at a small part of the target but also the effect of the physical object blocking the attack. Maybe a 50/50 to decide if they miss high (and miss) or miss low (and hit, if they'd hit your non-cover AC)? That's starting to be too cumbersome. Somewhat connected: for your L-wall idea to give the fighter advantage for being unseen in front of the attacker, the fighter would have to find some way of interacting with it without the enemies seeing, or else the fighter can't see his target. Maybe a big red button on his side of the wall? If the fighter peeks over the 5-ft wall, he's not unseen any more, right? This starts to get into my issues with the ambiguity of when being "unseen" breaks.
This isn't an issue for dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and any other shorter races in the other books. 👍 Besides, even if it's just acting as cover instead of full concealment, that still has its own benefit that wasn't there before.
Cover and concealment are similar ideas, but are very distinct. Concealment is still more helpful that just being out in the open, even if it doesn't actually provide a physical wall of protection to the user.
As a cantrip Minor Illusion can still be useful at higher levels for when you have already cast a spell using a minor action during the current turn. For example, maybe you could cast the crate to block line of sight, then Misty Step to another location that is itself also out of sight. Now your enemies believe you are behind the crate, perhaps baiting out some powerful abilities or spells. As an illusionist you could potentially also make the sound of a powerful spell being cast from inside the box on a subsequent turn to further confuse your enemies.
Would you also do a guide on fog cloud, or really control spells in general? I have some trouble imagining how would you use something like a fog cloud consistently to a great effect, since enemies can still run trough it and it blocks vision both ways, so it's not like you can get a free shot at them.
Yes, I won't do battlefield in general, it's too big a topic and the video would be too long. Fog Cloud I will definitely tackle, likely within the next month or two (it's on my short list already)
Protip: Cast it before entering the room in order to give you 9 rounds of sound distractions. - Can also be used by a druid who has this spell to be able to "speak" while in beast form if needed (using their illusionary voice) or as distraction, intimidation, etc. - If you are sneaking can be used to make a subtle noise distraction up to 30 feet away to throw people off your true location. - Similarly if you are a "darklock" in a darkness bubble you can have your voice or other sounds emanate from up to 30' away. - Can be used in a similar way to make someone think someone is sneaking up on them. (Though the 30' range makes this difficult.)
One thing I allow for Minor Illusion is to allow it to sometimes be used as a help action in combat. Yes, you can't create a creature, but you sure can create the sound of one. An intelligent creature, like a goblin or guard that hears "BACKSTAB!" from just behind them is sure to flinch and maybe take their focus off the enemy in front of them. I tend to allow this with a Deception roll so as to not make it too easy, and the same enemy is unlikely to fall for it twice. Can it be used to give your Rogue or Paladin ally advantage for an important attack once in a combat encounter? Absolutely.
I have used it in RP to create a sign above and behind someone's head "He's lying" or silently to direct party using an arrow that they can see but opponents can't. Also used to create effectively psychic paper like in Doctor Who .. risks discovery.. but a scroll can be flourished (then cast cantrip to create correct words/ wax seal) and then put away before guard can study too intently.
I cast a Minor Illusion of a 3 sided box put over me, an enemy is in front of me, I touch the inside back wall to reveal to myself that it's an illusion, I sit inside and cast spells to mess with the enemy's mind but don't visibly go through the box and they leave me alone because they think I'm trapped inside a box and they're just not having a good mental health day...Solid Snake Bard.
If they investigate and fail their save (very likely since my bard has a 17 in Charisma) and they walk away from me...boom, illusion fails, but I get an attack of opportunity with advantage due to element of surprise. Heck, if you needed to convince anyone to do nearly anything, incept them, inside their mind have a shopkeep's own voice suggest that he should give your party cheaper items. Quite literally be the devil or angel on his shoulder.
I've been using Minor Illusion to create an open top spiked metal bared cage around one medium or smaller enemy. I made it spiked so creatures would think twice before interacting with it. The DM has been rolling Investigations against it. Am I using the spell properly?
@@TreantmonksTemple My thoughts were two things. 1. Maybe the spikes would help against that? 2. Do all creatures in the world check if everything is real by interacting with it? If I cast stone wall or something, would creatures use their interaction to go around it? It seems like a fine line between the DM knowing that, that is an illusion spell so NPCs always interact with it to make sure it's fake and the DM knowing it's an actual spell so NPCs never check.
@@TreantmonksTemple I literally paused the video just before you talked about that, haha. Sorry about that. Thanks for the responses, I appreciate the info!
I think a good rule would be to automatically make a die roll with any creature who has a passive investigation higher than your save DC. For all others, they would need a reason to interact with the illusion.
Great video! I may forward this to my bard player. :) Only one problem - you said they may have no choice but to attack with cover/disad. OR, one of the archers just shoots the crate, and ends the illusion... of course, as you note, this assumes they have an inkling that it’s illusory...
How about making a rock or bush appear in your own space when nobody is looking. As long as you don't interact with it. A good way for a scout to find cover.
@@CallenExile Technically, it can, if your character was to just spam the cantrip; creating a new image just a little further away every time. Not an option in combat, of course.
It wouldn't look like it was moving though, you'd be completely visible between castings. Play a warlock and take misty visions if you want to do this legit.
A question on creating obstacles to the LOS to your character. If you minor illusioned a crate, or boulder in front of your character, wouldn't everyone who was looking at you know it was an illusion since it just appeared in front of you? What's the point of it then?
Also consider the enemies might already be distracted with direct combat and not notice. If you're at the edge of a forest, for example, and minor illusion a big old stump in front of you, it's more likely to not stand out as it's just part of another tree. 👍 For the house example in the video, I might've gone with something like a piece of furniture instead that blends in with the surroundings. Or even a partial wall that matches the rest of the interior. Like it's always been there. Better yet, a borderless 'mirror' that projects an image of your space if you weren't there, making it look like YOU disappeared instead with invisibility. 😄
Summoning objects isn't unheard of. . . unless your hiding just make gregarious motions with your hands as you cast to make them believe your doing something significant and have the obstruction appear.
I'll be using on my arcane trickster to hide in the middle of a fight in the open field, using cunning action Create wall, which blocks sight, hide, then move. Or create a wall at range, which then blocks sight, and attack through the wall next turn with advantage for sneak attack. Uses will be limited, but still could be situationally good for sure. I also want to use in the markets, to make missing things less obvious. Cast on an object I intend to steal, overlapping the real with the illusion. Slight of hand to palm the object without notice. Object still appears to be there, for a minute longer.
Question: BY RAW. Could a small PC/creature that knows of the minor illusion of a (5x5 cubed rock) be able to attack with ADV from behind the illusion ? For 1 attack right ? Provided that the target is unaware of the small attacker (therefore the PC is treated as an unseen attacker). Is that right ?
Serious question. Around 15:40 you talk about creating an illusion of something for the enemies to target or be intimidated by. This led me to come up with the simple (but possibly effective) idea of casting to create a tiger behind one of the enemies, and yelling out (as my free action) "Watch out, there's a tiger behind the kobolds!" Obviously the kobolds (enemies) would turn to face the new threat. However, lets say for one reason or another that the kobolds don't face the target, or poorly roll and are not able to interact with the target. Unless there was prior agreement from the party, would they not also assume the illusion was real? What would prevent the paladin as example from focusing his attacks on the illusion ghost that spawns next to him and a kobold. Are party members simply immune from the party's illusion? Would this also apply to enemies (enemy spellcaster casts illusion, and his party members are immune, even if it was not agreed to prior to combat)?
My favorite cantrip is Prestidigitation. It's not my most useful, mind. But it's the best atmospheric & RPing cantrip. Plus if you go into icky sewers it's really handy. Minor Illusion is arguably more useful plus is a great backup atmospheric & RPing cantrip.
Does the interaction with the illusion have to be physical touch? Couldn't the enemy spellcaster just cast a simple spell like magic missile or a simple damage cantrip against the suspected illusion? If the magic missile or firebolt just goes through the create isn't that a confirmation that it's an illusion? Yes it's wasting a turn doing so but it confirms the illusion thereby negating the effects.
Wanted your opinion on the use of this spell and similar ones. How do you feel about having the illusion cast over top an allied target to obsurce them...but it should immediately be obvious to them its an illusion because they interact with it as it's cast?
Thanks for the input. Great video. Been waiting for more illusion stuff from you. You got me playing a god wizard illusionist. I like your viewpoints. ^.^
Minor Illusion + sleight of hand in a tavern is money. Agree with the comments that the most excellent uses for Minor Illusion have nothing to do with combat.
Okay, so a five-by-five-by-five-foot crate would create cover (3/4 cover, I'd say, the best you can get), but unless you're a halfling, gnome, or (possibly) dwarf illusionist, it's not going to block line of sight unless you choose to go prone ... which is not necessarily a bad idea since you can attack on later turns by using half your movement to spring up and (I would say, if I were the DM) half your movement to drop again after attacking. This is great even if the DM is thinking tactically and has both the enemy spellcaster and at least one of the two archers prepare actions to attack when you reappear, because you'll still have 3/4 cover ... though the archers might want to concentrate on the bard or the more immediately threatening paladin and cleric. The only weakness in your thinking, I believe, is that this all falls apart if the spellcaster chooses to cast an attack cantrip like Fire Bolt at the illusory crate to destroy it, because then a *PHYSICALLY REAL* bolt of fire created by the spellcaster interacts with the illusory object. I also love the idea of using minor illusion to hide an archery rogue for sneak attack. I just wonder ... RAW, does a member of the party interacting physically with the illusory object reveal to ENEMIES, too, that it's illusory? The text is unclear here, but I think it might ... which would mean that the "wall of ice" example you gave wouldn't work, because as soon as the paladin interacted with it to allow itself to attack through it, the enemy spellcaster would see through the illusion as well. Also, as regards higher-level campaigns, you *DO* need to consider the possibility that, even if a "campaign" ends at level 5, the DM might want to continue with the same characters, in the same world, but with either home brew or *other adventures in the same setting.* Luckily, the latest addition to (general) D&D lore (Tasha's Cauldron) allow us to avoid that conundrum by switching out Minor Illusion if we ever consider it to have outlived its usefulness ...
You laid out the benefits of minor illusion very well. At the end you said it got less useful. I am confused by that. Why wouldn't those benefits persist at every level? If I have any comrades who focus on ranged attacks, then wouldn't building them something to hide behind always be useful? What are some examples of the ability being less useful at higher levels? (Mechanically, I want to know ways this ability becomes less useful)
I don't think it mechanically gets less useful, just that the other options are more powerful. Like sure you could cast minor illusion to give your ranged ally advantage on one attack, or you could cast psychic lance or transmute rock and knock out one more enemies turns.
The only thing about obscure is that minor illusion creates at most a 5' x 5' x 5' cube. Meaning, it's only 5 feet tall. Most PCs are taller. A DM could rule that you only have 3/4th cover, or force you to duck down (and on the next turn, half of your movement to stand, and possibly be the target of a held action). I think that because the spell is only a cantrip, and people have a tendency to overly abuse it, DMs may find ways of overcoming these situations, or applying a situational drawback to it's use. Also interacting with an object (or use object) is an action, not a free action. So, if your own party members interact with your illusion, they are doing this at the cost of an attack.
"Use an object" requires an action, "Interact with an object" is done in tandem with an action and movement as per PHB. Personally, I'm 6'2", and I am very confident I can hide behind a 5x5x5 object without falling prone. I could see maybe if your character is a Firbolg or a bugbear or something...
In regards to scaling with lvls, the minor illusion would still be great to block line of sight. At higher lvls, the opponents could assume it was a wall spell. As a DM i would allow/encourage continuous use of the minor illusion in higher lvls.
I think a lot of minor illusion can be done by a pact of the chain imp. Since warlocks get so few cantrips, I unlearned minor illusion at level 4 for magic stone.
Minor Illusion Illusion cantrip Casting Time: 1 action Range: 30 feet Components: S, M (a bit of fleece) Duration: 1 minute You create a sound or an image of an object within range that lasts for the duration. The illusion also ends if you dismiss it as an action or cast this spell again. If you create a sound, its volume can range from a whisper to a scream. It can be your voice, someone else’s voice, a lion’s roar, a beating of drums, or any other sound you choose. The sound continues unabated throughout the duration, or you can make discrete sounds at different times before the spell ends. If you create an image of an object-such as a chair, muddy footprints, or a small chest-it must be no larger than a 5-foot cube. The image can’t create sound, light, smell, or any other sensory effect. Physical interaction with the image reveals it to be an illusion, because things can pass through it. If a creature uses its action to examine the sound or image, the creature can determine that it is an illusion with a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the illusion becomes faint to the creature. I’d like to point out that the each illusion spell dictates what happens when the illusion is discovered for what it is. The majority of illusion spells state that you can see through them after a successful save,check, or physical interaction. Minor illusion states that the illusion becomes faint, but very importantly does not say you can see through it. While I personally struggle a bit make sense of how an image could be faint and yet still solid enough to prevent being seen through, that is what minor illusion says. This means that if it is used as some form of obscurity then the creature inside the image cannot see out of it, even if that creature cast the spell itself. It is also important to note the interaction of this phenomenon with true sight. While truesights explanation states that it automatically detects illusions and passes saves, it does not state that truesight sees through and penetrates all illusions. This distinction is important because it it the individual spell effects that states what happens when an illusion is discerned. The description of these effects often give further power to true sight by referring to it in the spell. This is somewhat similar to the general misunderstanding of the charmed condition and what it actually does versus additional rider effects that may be added because of the added effects of charm spells. Truesight A creature with truesight can, out to a specific range, see in normal and magical darkness, see invisible creatures and objects, automatically detect visual illusions and succeed on saving throws against them, and perceives the original form of a shapechanger or a creature that is transformed by magic. Furthermore, the creature can see into the Ethereal Plane. After having said all that I’d like to say the best comparison I’ve come up with is like watching and old tube T.V. That is displaying a box, but the connection goes out. You might still be able to make out the box, but there’s a lot of static. And the whole time you never actually perceived the back of the screen of the T.V. I like to envision my illusion static as being mostly purple by the way :)
If someone knows spells, sees you cast this. Would they not know its an illusion? So they would see through it? As such it could not protect you from being targeted?
Nice Vid, nice to have some new tools to throw at my players and use when I'm one of them! I use a bit of a homebrew 'familiarity with magic' system for enchantment and illusion. If the subject of the spell is unfamiliar, they are more likely to believe the illusion or not realize that they were charmed, but if they are a spellcaster (especially an illusionist), they are very likely (or certain) to recognize the magic if not the specific spell. It means that I can be more flexible with illusions and charms depending on the encounter.
Why don't you cast illusion of big shield (5x5 ft) with tiny firing-hole inside. You can shoot through the hole for whole minute, enemies woun't see you, so you have advantage and if they try to attack you, they will have disadvantage - but who sane would try to shoot small hole, when there are more valid targets.
I love this video! Thank you for the guide. Here's something I've been experimenting with: minor illusion can't make an object move, but what if you cast the illusion to be in mid air? If the DM rules that gravity affects it, then you have a much scarier fake creature, like a wax panther jumping on an enemy while the barbarian is attacking, giving advantage.
Great video and great job describing my favourite cantrip!! There is just one thing our DM and me are always discussing.. imagine a combat as an arcane trickster rogue, I created a crate next to the enemy boss. At the beginning of my turn I am behind the crate, so that the boss cant see me. Now in my turn I move around the crate to the boss and hit him from the side as my action.. would I have adventage here or not? Since Im hidden behind the crate it is kind of an suprise, isnt it? that would be a great way to get sneak attack every turn, of course combined with the mobile feat or cunning action to disengage and move back to the crate. Thanks in Advance!
Seems like I could give the gronk disadvantage vs my BSF every round by continuing to recast minor illusion as a wall between them whenever the gronk interacts with the last one. One attack per round at disadvantage vs my BSF feels pretty good at any level.
Quite late seeing this but I'm curious about something. Say I place a crate between me and an opponent with a crossbow. If he has a hunch that it's an illusion, and fires something straight through it, couldn't that just hit me and at the same time break my illusion? He can't see me, but I can't see him, so would the advantage/disadvantage cancel out giving him a good shot at me?
Another use would be to project the voice of their leader (if you've heard it) outside calling for a retreat. Or, a five foot square smack dab in the middle of the enemies of creepy, distracting whispers. Maybe a kind DM would give them disadvantage on attacks or whatever. 👍
the crate / ice wall are GREAT ideas...except one major issue...the crate/wall is only 5 feet tall..so UNLESS you shorter than 5 feet OR you go prone, you will not be fully obscured. SMALL RACES FTW! (RAW, since there is no option to crouch down and walk)
probably dumb question (apologize in advance) for you crate tactics, creating cover to obstruct view of the enemy from the paladin, so he doesnt provoke OA what if the paladin's heigh is more than 5 feet wouldnt the enemy would still be able to see the paladin's head, at least? and still could do OA?
Damn, sorry, i edited the question to asks about the paladin situation instead, because thats the one that happened in my campaign. But your answer still applies. Yeah that makes sense. Crouching can just be part of the movement, maybe.
I'm not sure if I agree with your interpretation of what it means to "see through" an illusion. My take on that would be that you see the illusion for what it is, not that it becomes transparent. Also great use, have a spellcaster keep creating threatening 'creatures' behind an enemy, allowing the rogue to sneak in when the target stops paying attention to them.
The spell description says: If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the illusion becomes faint to the creature. That seems to indicate that it becomes see-through.
Why not use it to enhance shadows in the room to make them think that creatures are moving up on them? Or a blade trap/ bear trap to keep them at range?
For the illusion walls, you're assuming the paladin is below 5ft on height. That's is not full cover/obscurement. but at most 3/4tss cover assuming is a 6ft tall regular guy.
Always find the people who say "no" to any interesting use of minor illusion are the same DM's who will go "All of a sudden a box appears in front of the wizard. Ranger's turn next...he shoots an arrow at the newly appearing box and it goes right through and straight at you. Does 18 hit? No, no disadvantage."
regarding hiding behind or inside the minor illusion box. It's only a 5 foot cube. It only hides them if they are kneeling inside/behind them. Most characters are taller than 5 foot, and unless the player communicates the plan ahead of time for the party to be kneeling at every turn, this strategy isn't working.
@@TreantmonksTemple Yeah, right there in the PHB under combat. "You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action." That's REALLY good to know.
jo alexander sorry for bad english but i really dont know what you mean by interact, can i pull a lever and attack or pulling a lever is considered one action?
I think this is a bit too much combat focused. The best uses of minor illusion are outside of combat, for example to enable con games, etc. Still a good Video.
The use of this spell outside of combat is limited by little more than your imagination. In combat, there's only so much you can do that will be effective, and I think making a video to help people effectively use this in combat is way more useful than listing off a bunch of random things you could do with this outside of combat. Though, not everyone has a quick imagination, so a video giving some ideas for it's use outside of combat wouldn't be bad either.
@@rageoftyrael I agree. Especially when you're on the other side of the screen. This video helped me to understand how to play the bad guys when a illusion is in play.
The description of Object Interactions says you can kick a small stone. Does that mean you can kick a small stone at an object you suspect to be an illusion?
but what about this part, "If a creature uses its action to examine the sound or image, the creature can determine that it is an illusion with a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the illusion becomes faint to the creature." if a creature can just use a free action to interact with the image why is this line in the description? so is it a free action or does it take the creatures action, can't be both.
To item interact with an object you have to actually go touch it or physically interact with it. You can inspect it from a distance trying to determine if it's an illusion.
What treefire said, but also note that it does not state that the investigation or interacting with it are the only ways to discern it for what it is. If a creature knows it is an illusion, it can still see through it, no checks on interaction required. However, that's a double edged sword: just doubting it's real is not enough. Also knowing that knowing it's fake makes it faint can cause creatures to doubt themselves when they doubt it's real.
I doesn't provide cover at all, but it can block line of sight. A Minor illusion is 5'x5'x5', so as long as your PC is medium sized, they should be able to block line of sight, though they may need to duck slightly.
@@TreantmonksTemple I have a really boring Dungeon master and he won't let me use this... he's opinion is that a medium character is 7' so I can't cover myself. If I want to cast it the enemy will hit my illusion and pass through it hitting me instead. I want a new open minded master....
@@jhonnywick3637 Yep, a DM can nerf anything with house rules. It's unfortunate when a DM thinks that making things less fun for players is part of their job.
Minor illusion is ok it has some good uses but, Silent image is better because minor illusion limits you especially visually by only allowing an object where silent image gives you way more leeway with creating more useful visuals. That said, minor illusion comes into its own by combining this with silent image. So let's say our halfling thief is being chased by a constable. So we have the wizard first create a minor illusion of the sound of a crackling fire in the fireplace. Then he creates an illusionary copy of the wall and a visual representation of a roaring fire in said fireplace.While we could also have done the same but just depicting an empty fire place however, a guard might actually check up the flu thereby breaking the illusion but, Noone would suspect something if there's a fire going. So I like it's use but I think silent image is they way to go for creating the visual image aspect of your illusion and use minor illusion for auditory ambiance.
5 foot is about 1,5M so unless the caster its a halfling or dwarf or gnome, the enemys should be able to draw LoS (Unless they go prone, wich creates other advantages/disadvanteges by itself... rigth?)
TLDR: I think one could just crouch a bit to block LoS, but people that are too tall might have troubles. I don't know about your DM, but People over 5ft can crouch a bit to obscure themselves. One doesn't have to go fully prone to effectively hide behind something as tall as a wood fence. I'd rule it as blacking LoS as long as the character can reasonably be behind it completely. Most creatures are taller than wide, so I doubt the width of the minor illusion will be a deciding factor. Now if a person is 10ft tall? that might prove more difficult since they have to crouch till they are half their height.
Use Minor Illusion to create a topographical map, or a 3D rendering of the levels of a dungeon explored so far.
It's all fun & games until the DM uses the same trick against you.
@@Reoh0z Uhhh… In general that is a correct and valid response but in this case… Are you worried about the DM out cartography-ing you? No judgement just… interesting thing to worry about.
@@OverkillDM The DM's ethereal avatar being summoned and creating an incorrect map of the dungeon using Minor Illusion so they get lost. That's something I often worry about.
The map comes from your mind, so the map will look like how your character remembers it.
@@schwarzerritter5724 I can imagine in 3D. 😊
We use this primarily for RP and strategy purposes, "Here's a perfectly carved bust of our target." "Here's what the king sounds like." "Here's a 3D map with topography based on what I saw through my familiar's eyes, the enemies are Here, Here, aaaand Here" "This is what the creature we fought looked like." As a DM I'll sometimes run checks to see how accurate the caster can make it, but overall it's a handy tool and stays useful all the way through :)
Minor illusion is also a fun way to flair your caster. What kind of occluders do you use? Walls of bones? An impenetrable tangle of roses and thorns? Or, yes, a crate.
Instead of a crate, I usually have my character make a rising up motion with their hands and make the illusion a 5 ft cube of whatever the ground is made of. Now it looks like I used something like Mold Earth or something to raise the ground up to create a wall.
You sort of hinted at one of my favorite combinations, Silent Image plus (auditory) Minor Illusion, on a Warlock.
Being able to cast Silent Image at-will is an under-appreciated feature, especially when buffed up by auditory illusions. Silent Image can move, is larger and isn't limited to objects. Without Minor Illusion though, it's not nearly as strong.
Misty Visions is a lot of fun. Probably the best low level "cast at will" invocation
@@TreantmonksTemple the issue I've had playing it is that both silent image and minor illusion take actions, so dm would not let me sync the image and sound convincingly. You ever encounter this?
@@I..cast..fireball The spell states that when you cast it as a voice "The sound continues unabated throughout the duration, or you can make discrete sounds at different times before the spell ends." I'd say that it works if you cast the cantrip first then on your next turn you cast the silent image, now you can use BOTH of them together since the minor illusion does NOT require concentration to keep the effect going after it being cast, and you can use the "you can make discrete sounds at different times before the spell ends" part to synchronize the sound with the silent image while you control the silent image with your action.
@@khruler I agree with you. It's just not all DMs do. Mine says the discrete sounds need to be the same sound that I specified when cast. So I could yell "help" over and over again, but can not hold a conversation.
Problem is there are a lot of competing invocations to take. Like mask of many faces, voice of the chain master, agonizing blast, repelling blast, tomb of Levistus, eldritch mind. All arguably more important than silent image at will, which uses your concentration, so therefore you can't debuff the enemy with hex or cause fear (or better spells at higher spell slots)
Instead of waxworks or maniquines Cast it to make a suit of full plate striking a dynamic pose.
How about just a broom with a wig on top
How about a scary looking taxidermied animal?
Better yet, just make it a corpse - if someone sees a skeleton with a sword, they'll assume it's an undead.
Minor Illusion also means your Bard with Perfomance checks is their own 2 piece band.
I do that. Also use it to play victory music after a fight(Final Fantasy is my go to)
DROP THE BASE
Add holograms and pyrotechnics to finish too. Performance didn't get the reaction you wanted? Boost the applause noise toward the back of the room or sides.
My bards often like a big band sound. No need to limit the effect to one "instrument" I think, at least by RAW. A band is a sound, as is an orchestra. Listen to the sound of a recorded orchestra emitted by a single speaker. It's all just sound waves. A CD or MP3 doesn't have tracks for separate instruments like a recording studio. A single speaker can only make one sound at a time. The minor illusion spell says:
"... or you can make discrete sounds at different times before the spell ends."
Sounds almost like the definition of music. Consider too, would you allow the sound of rats squeaking and scurrying? Bats flapping, people running, weapons clashing, an audience murmuring, or jingle bells on a horse. If any of those collective nouns are ok, then why not a band? The volume is limited to a lion's roar, but that's ok. YDMV - Your DM may vary.
I recently used minor illusion for something I thought was pretty clever. I wanted to prevent a player from getting counterspelled (I was doing a combat test) so I had them create a spot of cover, hide behind it, and then cast their spell while obscured by the illusion. Since the other caster couldn't see them, they couldn't counterspell them.
I haven't tried this tactic yet, but I'm waiting to get the chance. Cast fog cloud (preferably at a higher level to make a truly massive cloud). Then use minor illusion to duplicate the sounds of my party members in combat. I might be able to misdirect enemies who can't see their way through the fog.
That works in the imagination but not by raw rules. Fog cloud doesn't mean enemies don't know where the opponents are. They have to take the hide action.
@@jrg305 Imagine if you had no fog cloud, but used major image for an illusory duplicate of yourself. The enemy can see you right there, but they can also see the illusion and might go for it first. In the blindness of a fog cloud, an audio illusion would be good enough to act as that duplicate.
@@jrg305 It means they know where the opponents were. They don't know where they are.
I absolutely believe you could use fog cloud and then misdirect them through the fog until they come out the other side and find nothing. It's literally the magicians smoke trick, and figuratively done on steroids (since you hear your targets on the other side of the fog and don't realize it's an illusion till you pass through the fog.
If you're fighting an enemy with Counterspell, could you create an illusion of your own voice casting the verbal component of a high-level spell to try to trick them to waste their spell slots?
Thats fucking cruel
@@DAEDRICDUKE1 It's chaotic neutral :)
"Sure. Make a Deception/Performance check to lip-synch with your spell's sounds."
Counterspell specifies that you take the reaction when you see a creature casting a spell, so a strict raw reading means that they can't blow a counterspell since your minor illusion has already resolved
@@veras7927 Or when you HEAR it.
You must be aware of a spell being CAST.
Deception should suffice, but minor illusion will let you roll with advantage.
After the paladin dropped and the fighter drug her out of a room filled with baddies, my gnome warlock brought up the rear by retreating down a hallway and yelling “WALL OF POISON THORNS!” And used minor illusion to create a thorny bush. It not only granted cover but it served as an obstacle. Out of combat, he was constantly casting minor illusions to help illustrate his stories. I colored it as “paintings” he would create that hovered in the air, or small figurines on a board. The group called them my “PowerPoint” presentations :)
An illusion of a wall with a loophole in it to see out of and fire arrows "through" could work for a player to hide behind for cover. Visually this makes sense to give an enemy attacker a visual disadvantage on the attack, but it would actually do nothing physically. So if the -5 to hit from 3/4 cover makes an attacker miss, it seems completely wrong, as an arrow would just go straight through the illusion.
This is addressed in the DMG page 272
HITTING COVER
When a ranged attack misses a target that has cover you can use this optional rule (yes I know this is an optional rule, keep reading) to determine whether the cover was struck by the attack. First, determine whether the attack roll would have hit the protected target without cover. If the attack roll falls within a range low enough to miss the target but high enough to strike the target if there had been no cover, the object used for cover is struck.
With that said, if the object being struck is an illusion it would not be struck and it would just hit the person hiding behind illusionary cover. As a player I want so much to use Minor Illusion to allow my Gloomstalker Echo Knight to hide behind an illusionary bush will hit arrows all come out of his echo somewhere else. As a DM Minor Illusion will never give an AC bonus for cover, only a visual advantage or disadvantage.
Chris, I was wondering how do you feel about this? My thought was an enemy attacker would have disadvantage from visual obscurement , but the player behind the illusionary cover would not receive any bonus to AC because the cover is just an illusion. Once the enemy hits the player, they would see through the illusion and no longer have disadvantage.
Additionally, I don't think an Echo Knight who is concealed, using a bow but having the arrow come from it's Echo should have it's position reveled. I know this would be very overpowered being able to attack with advantage every turn, but logically there is no reason there position would be compromised.
Another strange thing with RAW for minor illusion creating creatures. It technically can't create a creature but I can create a corpse of a creature, and say that corpse is of a creature that just freshly died of poison or something indistinguishable from the outside, now they look identical to a creature but technically aren't.
No need for wax or stone versions of creatures now.
Here's a three part combo I came up with, though it does require a 10th level wizard: Glyph of Warding (upcast to 5th level). Effect, Spell Glyph: Wall of Force (5th level spell) creating a hemispherical dome. part three, Minor Illusion of something the target wants.
Here's an example of this in action: A local Baron has overheard rumors that a group of adventurers are out for his head. He's worried but his court mage has an Idea (See setup above) The Illusion in this case would be the shape of someone lying in the Baron's bed. When the assassins approach the trap is sprung, sealing them inside the dome created by the Wall of Force. The Wizard drop the Illusion on the bed, to instead create the sound of an alarm bell.
Also useful outside combat. Showing maps, people & monsters, recorded messages, marking traps for others (there's your help action!). Used in bardic performances to show still screens of the scenes your describing or singing about.
Great video! I play a Shadow Monk and have been using Minor Illusion mainly for playing pranks and giving other characters exact visuals of things I've seen, but I dramatically underestimated the combat potential of this spell!
You should note that Intelligence is a monster dump stat, as is proficiency in investigation. Thus the chance for the foe to fail the check only gets better with your prof and Int. A CR 15 monster will likely have a 13 Int (+1) vs your DC 18.
I've recently started using minor Illusion to create a stylish and taller version of myself in a pose behind me during introductions.
You can only make objects but that’s funny, I’d allow it.
@kevinelston404 yeah, I told my DM it was a semi lifelike wax statue that resembles a Jojo's stand
Also theme music is a use for minor illusion (i.e. after battle music from FF7 after an encounter)
That’s pretty good
I feel like making illlusory terrain will almost always be useful to break LoS. A sorcerer can use Quicken to cast a levelled spell as well as make cover with Minor Illusion all the way to endgame
One thing I have started using minor illusion for is what I nicknamed the MOM map it is me using a familiar to scout then projecting a minor illusion for a map to show a map or hallowgram. Another way I have used it is to cause a glow effect on me during an interrogation to intimidate
The return of roll20 strategy! Love it.
I have to confess. My kenku illusionist is exactly 5ft tall so he can walk inside his minor illusions which have a max height of 5ft as well.
Now that's great! Hide inside it like a box and suddenly you have advantage.
I'd say for Shadow Monks, this video is awesome. Since they don't necessarily damage spike all the time, I like the idea of giving a companion advantage, or a "smoke bomb" to hide them xD
Or even just for the stealth applications, it ought to keep the same utility throughout levels
your point that minor illusion at higher levels loses its "scaling" or effectiveness doesn't seem to make sense. True it doesn't do more, and your enemies might be more clever or have alternate senses, but against lets say high level grog like characters, it should still do what it has always done.
That's true. I guess you could say it scales with the enemies it affects.
The point being that it affects less and less enemies,
Because of their better stats and abilities.
So in a way it does lose effectiveness.
I agree about scaling. It's arguably the most powerful cantrip. It's undeniably the most utilitarian and versatile from the standpoint of battlefield control. However, it's more about the caster's thoughtfulness and the DM's interpretation that can make it so good, especially at higher levels.
I think the idea behind it being less effective is more along the lines that you will simply generally have better options to choose from the higher level you get. The kind of granular advantages that it can give you at a low level are great when you can't deal much more than 5 or 6 damage, but when your spells are dealing significantly more damage, those granular advantages start to lose their luster. The spell still does what it's meant to do, but you're using an action you could instead be using to kill a bad guy. It definitely depends on the situation.
@@rageoftyrael totally agree with this. In combat, not your best move. I guess was thinking of getting the drop on enemies and preserving spell slots, especially when resting is dicey. As a cantrip, it's always in your back pocket. It still has so much utility, but I haven't used it at higher levels to give a fair review.
Very interesting video!
I think some GMs might see these tactics as exploitative, but this is really fun, and fits excellently with an arcane trickster type :)
As a DM, I would love my players to use Minor Illusion this way. Makes for an extremely fun game :)
Based on the fact that the Shadow Monk gets the Minor Illusion cantrip - I think these are just the expected tactics to use the cantrip for.
The caster only needs to move 5 feet up or down to have line of sight on the target unless they used the hide action. The image would provide cover against ranged attacks in that scenerio, which is +5 to ac. The Dmg covers this on the chapter 'running on a grid' .
Create a wall with 3 sides around the party member. Problem solved.
I mostly use Minor Illusion to mimic fireballs in front of a Target's face or, when shopping, have an arrow point down toward my 2'7" forest gnome when the salesman can't see me over the counter.
That's amazing.
How would it mimic a fireball? It's a single static object, whereas a fireball is a moving, dynamic explosion...
@@LeMayJoseph It's a psych out to cause a panicked reaction. Nothing says it's static, it's just in a 5' cube, so a fireball appearing 5' in front of the target and ending in its face should be startling.
@@robinthrush9672 nothing says its static, but other illusion spells say that the illusion can move. Therefore, since minor illusion doesn't say it can move, it can't move
Also, fireball isn't an object. Minor illusion can only create objects
@@crownlexicon5225 Other illusion spells say that they can be moved "to another location", meaning outside the 5' cube Minor Illusion is stuck in. The only part that moderately supports you here is that "it can be altered to appear to move to that location naturally". Spells usually say what they "can't" do and things not specified are up to the DM at worst. Minor Illusion says an image can't create light, sound, smell, or be touched and other non-offensive illusions that can create sensory effect like heat or cold can't produce them strong enough to cause harm.
Fireball IS an object; it's just produced by magic. It can be seen and it can be touched, especially when it explodes. And I've seen people create real-life fireballs, which would be object regardless of some sort of "if it's magic, it's not an object" loop hole.
At 9th level, you get animate objects. Use minor illusion to give either the 10 coins obscurement, or if the blindsense of the objects sees through illusions, you can obscure the enemy. This will give advantage/disadvantage for all your animated objects. An obscured enemy may need a new cantrip each round BUT an obscured zone may need a hide roll (advantage) each round by each object.
I can see Minor Illusion blocking line of sight to a Small creature (so helping that halfling rogue is nice party synergy), but if that sorcerer is a Medium creature, then a crate that's a maximum of 5 ft high will never block an enemy's line of sight to a creature that's taller than 5 ft (which I believe all Medium creatures are). I could agree with heavily obscure or three-quarters cover, (or lightly obscure/half cover for the exceptionally tall Medium creatures) but not completely blocking line of sight.
Also don't forget your allies need to interact with the illusion and discover it to be one, unless you have a way of letting all of your allies know what you're doing that alerts none of your enemies to it.
Also keep in mind that unless you move out from the illusion's cover/obscurement, enemies will instantly realize the object is an illusion from your attacks passing through it.
Great guide! These subtle different ways you can use spells it abilities it's what I like in every system.
Minor illusion in combat can work as a poor man’s darkness spell as well, cast a black box on the enemy’s square and for a round the creature is effectively blinded, it can’t see other creatures outside the box if creatures react with the box they can see the creature inside and attack with advantage, the creature inside would have disadvantage vs effects it can’t see until it reacted with the box.
The creature is interacting with the box and can therefore see through it.
If the box was hollow and surrounded the square I would rule the blinded condition until the creature’s next turn when it can interact with the square
@@georgequilitz8530 you can make it for most things where they aren't directly touching it till they move which should last till their turn. of course if they are tall they can see a bit around their feet
If all of a sudden I couldn't see I'd either reach out to feel my surroundings which would dispel the effect and/or move 5'. I'd say a mook would be no different. Either way this wouldn't have the desired effect. At worst they'd use 5' of movement.
Minor Illusion is something that is quite good for a Rogue to nab, and it's worth it for a Magic Initiate choice even at higher levels. Letting the rogue book it and use illusions to disappear is a good way to survive long enough to heal up or set up an ambush even at higher levels. Getting advantage on someone when they aren't expecting it can be a nasty way to play some games there.
And I've found that a better option for a minor illusion to have a target pop up for someone is a suit of full plate armor or a floating weapon, animated objects are common enough that they can be a scary thing.
chill touch doesnt originate from your character and its an attack roll, so you might be able get advantage without revealing the illusion.
It's worth noting that these crates/walls can only be maximum 5 ft tall, so you have to demean yourself a bit by staying hunched over if you want to count as unseen behind one. If you're showing over the top, I don't know how I'd rule it. Maybe cover, except that cover reflects not only the difficulty in aiming at a small part of the target but also the effect of the physical object blocking the attack. Maybe a 50/50 to decide if they miss high (and miss) or miss low (and hit, if they'd hit your non-cover AC)? That's starting to be too cumbersome.
Somewhat connected: for your L-wall idea to give the fighter advantage for being unseen in front of the attacker, the fighter would have to find some way of interacting with it without the enemies seeing, or else the fighter can't see his target. Maybe a big red button on his side of the wall? If the fighter peeks over the 5-ft wall, he's not unseen any more, right? This starts to get into my issues with the ambiguity of when being "unseen" breaks.
This isn't an issue for dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and any other shorter races in the other books. 👍
Besides, even if it's just acting as cover instead of full concealment, that still has its own benefit that wasn't there before.
Cover and concealment are similar ideas, but are very distinct. Concealment is still more helpful that just being out in the open, even if it doesn't actually provide a physical wall of protection to the user.
The fighter can use a free action to interact with the object if history with this tactic isn't enough to understand that it's an illusion.
As a cantrip Minor Illusion can still be useful at higher levels for when you have already cast a spell using a minor action during the current turn. For example, maybe you could cast the crate to block line of sight, then Misty Step to another location that is itself also out of sight. Now your enemies believe you are behind the crate, perhaps baiting out some powerful abilities or spells. As an illusionist you could potentially also make the sound of a powerful spell being cast from inside the box on a subsequent turn to further confuse your enemies.
Would you also do a guide on fog cloud, or really control spells in general? I have some trouble imagining how would you use something like a fog cloud consistently to a great effect, since enemies can still run trough it and it blocks vision both ways, so it's not like you can get a free shot at them.
Yes, I won't do battlefield in general, it's too big a topic and the video would be too long. Fog Cloud I will definitely tackle, likely within the next month or two (it's on my short list already)
Protip: Cast it before entering the room in order to give you 9 rounds of sound distractions.
- Can also be used by a druid who has this spell to be able to "speak" while in beast form if needed (using their illusionary voice) or as distraction, intimidation, etc.
- If you are sneaking can be used to make a subtle noise distraction up to 30 feet away to throw people off your true location.
- Similarly if you are a "darklock" in a darkness bubble you can have your voice or other sounds emanate from up to 30' away.
- Can be used in a similar way to make someone think someone is sneaking up on them. (Though the 30' range makes this difficult.)
One thing I allow for Minor Illusion is to allow it to sometimes be used as a help action in combat. Yes, you can't create a creature, but you sure can create the sound of one. An intelligent creature, like a goblin or guard that hears "BACKSTAB!" from just behind them is sure to flinch and maybe take their focus off the enemy in front of them. I tend to allow this with a Deception roll so as to not make it too easy, and the same enemy is unlikely to fall for it twice. Can it be used to give your Rogue or Paladin ally advantage for an important attack once in a combat encounter? Absolutely.
I have used it in RP to create a sign above and behind someone's head "He's lying" or silently to direct party using an arrow that they can see but opponents can't. Also used to create effectively psychic paper like in Doctor Who .. risks discovery.. but a scroll can be flourished (then cast cantrip to create correct words/ wax seal) and then put away before guard can study too intently.
I cast a Minor Illusion of a 3 sided box put over me, an enemy is in front of me, I touch the inside back wall to reveal to myself that it's an illusion, I sit inside and cast spells to mess with the enemy's mind but don't visibly go through the box and they leave me alone because they think I'm trapped inside a box and they're just not having a good mental health day...Solid Snake Bard.
If they investigate and fail their save (very likely since my bard has a 17 in Charisma) and they walk away from me...boom, illusion fails, but I get an attack of opportunity with advantage due to element of surprise. Heck, if you needed to convince anyone to do nearly anything, incept them, inside their mind have a shopkeep's own voice suggest that he should give your party cheaper items. Quite literally be the devil or angel on his shoulder.
By the way great video for a GM. I have been struggling on how to handle illusion spells especially minor illusion for the GM side of the screen
I've been using Minor Illusion to create an open top spiked metal bared cage around one medium or smaller enemy. I made it spiked so creatures would think twice before interacting with it.
The DM has been rolling Investigations against it. Am I using the spell properly?
Technically the enemy could use their free interaction with an object to automatically reveal it as an illusion.
@@TreantmonksTemple My thoughts were two things.
1. Maybe the spikes would help against that?
2. Do all creatures in the world check if everything is real by interacting with it? If I cast stone wall or something, would creatures use their interaction to go around it? It seems like a fine line between the DM knowing that, that is an illusion spell so NPCs always interact with it to make sure it's fake and the DM knowing it's an actual spell so NPCs never check.
@@ashmit8268
1: maybe, that's really up to the DM
2: I agree, and talk about that in the video
@@TreantmonksTemple I literally paused the video just before you talked about that, haha. Sorry about that. Thanks for the responses, I appreciate the info!
I think a good rule would be to automatically make a die roll with any creature who has a passive investigation higher than your save DC. For all others, they would need a reason to interact with the illusion.
Great video! I may forward this to my bard player. :)
Only one problem - you said they may have no choice but to attack with cover/disad. OR, one of the archers just shoots the crate, and ends the illusion... of course, as you note, this assumes they have an inkling that it’s illusory...
How about making a rock or bush appear in your own space when nobody is looking. As long as you don't interact with it. A good way for a scout to find cover.
Even better yet: A crate that moves with you crouching inside.
"Aqua Mamba..."
Unfotunately, the illusion can't move.
@@CallenExile Technically, it can, if your character was to just spam the cantrip; creating a new image just a little further away every time.
Not an option in combat, of course.
It wouldn't look like it was moving though, you'd be completely visible between castings. Play a warlock and take misty visions if you want to do this legit.
@@CallenExile If you are spotted moving from place to place, especially with a box around you, you're not playing Metal G- I mean Rogue right anyway.
A question on creating obstacles to the LOS to your character. If you minor illusioned a crate, or boulder in front of your character, wouldn't everyone who was looking at you know it was an illusion since it just appeared in front of you? What's the point of it then?
Suspecting it to be an illusion and confirming it is an illusion through an investigation roll or interact with an object are not the same thing.
Also consider the enemies might already be distracted with direct combat and not notice.
If you're at the edge of a forest, for example, and minor illusion a big old stump in front of you, it's more likely to not stand out as it's just part of another tree. 👍
For the house example in the video, I might've gone with something like a piece of furniture instead that blends in with the surroundings.
Or even a partial wall that matches the rest of the interior. Like it's always been there. Better yet, a borderless 'mirror' that projects an image of your space if you weren't there, making it look like YOU disappeared instead with invisibility. 😄
Summoning objects isn't unheard of. . . unless your hiding just make gregarious motions with your hands as you cast to make them believe your doing something significant and have the obstruction appear.
I'll be using on my arcane trickster to hide in the middle of a fight in the open field, using cunning action
Create wall, which blocks sight, hide, then move.
Or create a wall at range, which then blocks sight, and attack through the wall next turn with advantage for sneak attack.
Uses will be limited, but still could be situationally good for sure.
I also want to use in the markets, to make missing things less obvious.
Cast on an object I intend to steal, overlapping the real with the illusion.
Slight of hand to palm the object without notice.
Object still appears to be there, for a minute longer.
Question: BY RAW. Could a small PC/creature that knows of the minor illusion of a (5x5 cubed rock) be able to attack with ADV from behind the illusion ? For 1 attack right ? Provided that the target is unaware of the small attacker (therefore the PC is treated as an unseen attacker). Is that right ?
I see no reason why not.
I mean, as a Wizard you can use your familiar to do that anyway by giving that small PC the help action.
Serious question. Around 15:40 you talk about creating an illusion of something for the enemies to target or be intimidated by. This led me to come up with the simple (but possibly effective) idea of casting to create a tiger behind one of the enemies, and yelling out (as my free action) "Watch out, there's a tiger behind the kobolds!" Obviously the kobolds (enemies) would turn to face the new threat. However, lets say for one reason or another that the kobolds don't face the target, or poorly roll and are not able to interact with the target. Unless there was prior agreement from the party, would they not also assume the illusion was real? What would prevent the paladin as example from focusing his attacks on the illusion ghost that spawns next to him and a kobold. Are party members simply immune from the party's illusion? Would this also apply to enemies (enemy spellcaster casts illusion, and his party members are immune, even if it was not agreed to prior to combat)?
I think you give players in the party the benefit of the doubt that they know their Wizards tricks and knows this tactic has worked in the past
My favorite cantrip is Prestidigitation. It's not my most useful, mind. But it's the best atmospheric & RPing cantrip.
Plus if you go into icky sewers it's really handy.
Minor Illusion is arguably more useful plus is a great backup atmospheric & RPing cantrip.
Lol, yes, post sewer clean-up is a chore. I always say that prestidigitation is the cantrip I would want in real life.
Does the interaction with the illusion have to be physical touch? Couldn't the enemy spellcaster just cast a simple spell like magic missile or a simple damage cantrip against the suspected illusion? If the magic missile or firebolt just goes through the create isn't that a confirmation that it's an illusion? Yes it's wasting a turn doing so but it confirms the illusion thereby negating the effects.
Nice work. Good uses for a minor spell.
Wanted your opinion on the use of this spell and similar ones.
How do you feel about having the illusion cast over top an allied target to obsurce them...but it should immediately be obvious to them its an illusion because they interact with it as it's cast?
If I was the DM I would allow that.
Thanks for the input. Great video. Been waiting for more illusion stuff from you. You got me playing a god wizard illusionist. I like your viewpoints. ^.^
Minor Illusion + sleight of hand in a tavern is money. Agree with the comments that the most excellent uses for Minor Illusion have nothing to do with combat.
Okay, so a five-by-five-by-five-foot crate would create cover (3/4 cover, I'd say, the best you can get), but unless you're a halfling, gnome, or (possibly) dwarf illusionist, it's not going to block line of sight unless you choose to go prone ... which is not necessarily a bad idea since you can attack on later turns by using half your movement to spring up and (I would say, if I were the DM) half your movement to drop again after attacking. This is great even if the DM is thinking tactically and has both the enemy spellcaster and at least one of the two archers prepare actions to attack when you reappear, because you'll still have 3/4 cover ... though the archers might want to concentrate on the bard or the more immediately threatening paladin and cleric.
The only weakness in your thinking, I believe, is that this all falls apart if the spellcaster chooses to cast an attack cantrip like Fire Bolt at the illusory crate to destroy it, because then a *PHYSICALLY REAL* bolt of fire created by the spellcaster interacts with the illusory object.
I also love the idea of using minor illusion to hide an archery rogue for sneak attack. I just wonder ... RAW, does a member of the party interacting physically with the illusory object reveal to ENEMIES, too, that it's illusory? The text is unclear here, but I think it might ... which would mean that the "wall of ice" example you gave wouldn't work, because as soon as the paladin interacted with it to allow itself to attack through it, the enemy spellcaster would see through the illusion as well.
Also, as regards higher-level campaigns, you *DO* need to consider the possibility that, even if a "campaign" ends at level 5, the DM might want to continue with the same characters, in the same world, but with either home brew or *other adventures in the same setting.* Luckily, the latest addition to (general) D&D lore (Tasha's Cauldron) allow us to avoid that conundrum by switching out Minor Illusion if we ever consider it to have outlived its usefulness ...
You laid out the benefits of minor illusion very well. At the end you said it got less useful. I am confused by that. Why wouldn't those benefits persist at every level?
If I have any comrades who focus on ranged attacks, then wouldn't building them something to hide behind always be useful? What are some examples of the ability being less useful at higher levels? (Mechanically, I want to know ways this ability becomes less useful)
I don't think it mechanically gets less useful, just that the other options are more powerful. Like sure you could cast minor illusion to give your ranged ally advantage on one attack, or you could cast psychic lance or transmute rock and knock out one more enemies turns.
The only thing about obscure is that minor illusion creates at most a 5' x 5' x 5' cube. Meaning, it's only 5 feet tall. Most PCs are taller. A DM could rule that you only have 3/4th cover, or force you to duck down (and on the next turn, half of your movement to stand, and possibly be the target of a held action).
I think that because the spell is only a cantrip, and people have a tendency to overly abuse it, DMs may find ways of overcoming these situations, or applying a situational drawback to it's use.
Also interacting with an object (or use object) is an action, not a free action. So, if your own party members interact with your illusion, they are doing this at the cost of an attack.
"Use an object" requires an action, "Interact with an object" is done in tandem with an action and movement as per PHB. Personally, I'm 6'2", and I am very confident I can hide behind a 5x5x5 object without falling prone. I could see maybe if your character is a Firbolg or a bugbear or something...
The player doesn't need to go entirely prone imo, they can simply crouch, duck, slouch or what have you
A question: what if I cast the spell on a moving cart? does the illusion moves with the cart?
Good question. I talk about that a bit in my Wizard Subclasses vid. My answer is if I'm the DM, yes, but officially, I dunno.
@@TreantmonksTemple Many thanx, with your answer I'm gonna talk to my master.
@@TreantmonksTemple and what if your campaign has planets revolving around a sun does magic that target an area move at thousands of miles per hour
In regards to scaling with lvls, the minor illusion would still be great to block line of sight. At higher lvls, the opponents could assume it was a wall spell. As a DM i would allow/encourage continuous use of the minor illusion in higher lvls.
I think a lot of minor illusion can be done by a pact of the chain imp. Since warlocks get so few cantrips, I unlearned minor illusion at level 4 for magic stone.
The furniture on the battle map are so huge, the table takes the same place as 3-4 beds moved next to each other
Minor Illusion
Illusion cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: S, M (a bit of fleece) Duration: 1 minute
You create a sound or an image of an object within
range that lasts for the duration. The illusion also ends if you dismiss it as an action or cast this spell again.
If you create a sound, its volume can range from a whisper to a scream. It can be your voice, someone else’s voice, a lion’s roar, a beating of drums, or any other sound you choose. The sound continues unabated throughout the duration, or you can make discrete sounds at different times before the spell ends.
If you create an image of an object-such as a chair, muddy footprints, or a small chest-it must be no larger than a 5-foot cube. The image can’t create sound, light, smell, or any other sensory effect. Physical interaction with the image reveals it to be an illusion, because things can pass through it.
If a creature uses its action to examine the sound or image, the creature can determine that it is an illusion with a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the illusion becomes faint to
the creature.
I’d like to point out that the each illusion spell dictates what happens when the illusion is discovered for what it is. The majority of illusion spells state that you can see through them after a successful save,check, or physical interaction. Minor illusion states that the illusion becomes faint, but very importantly does not say you can see through it. While I personally struggle a bit make sense of how an image could be faint and yet still solid enough to prevent being seen through, that is what minor illusion says. This means that if it is used as some form of obscurity then the creature inside the image cannot see out of it, even if that creature cast the spell itself.
It is also important to note the interaction of this phenomenon with true sight. While truesights explanation states that it automatically detects illusions and passes saves, it does not state that truesight sees through and penetrates all illusions. This distinction is important because it it the individual spell effects that states what happens when an illusion is discerned. The description of these effects often give further power to true sight by referring to it in the spell. This is somewhat similar to the general misunderstanding of the charmed condition and what it actually does versus additional rider effects that may be added because of the added effects of charm spells.
Truesight
A creature with truesight can, out to a specific range, see in normal and magical darkness, see invisible creatures and objects, automatically detect visual illusions and succeed on saving throws against them, and perceives the original form of a shapechanger or a creature that is transformed by magic. Furthermore, the creature can see into the Ethereal Plane.
After having said all that I’d like to say the best comparison I’ve come up with is like watching and old tube T.V. That is displaying a box, but the connection goes out. You might still be able to make out the box, but there’s a lot of static. And the whole time you never actually perceived the back of the screen of the T.V.
I like to envision my illusion static as being mostly purple by the way :)
If someone knows spells, sees you cast this. Would they not know its an illusion? So they would see through it? As such it could not protect you from being targeted?
Static image of an empty hallway in front of guards. They have no reason to check and the party can walk past
Too big
Nice Vid, nice to have some new tools to throw at my players and use when I'm one of them!
I use a bit of a homebrew 'familiarity with magic' system for enchantment and illusion. If the subject of the spell is unfamiliar, they are more likely to believe the illusion or not realize that they were charmed, but if they are a spellcaster (especially an illusionist), they are very likely (or certain) to recognize the magic if not the specific spell. It means that I can be more flexible with illusions and charms depending on the encounter.
What is he using in the background to move characters and objects around? Seems like a good way to create maps and track character movement.
roll20 [dot] net
Thank you.
So guidance you have to touch the person too. So I say the power of lathander compels you... Every single time.
Treantmonk ... treantmonk.. wait, I remember reading your posts. Oh hell yeah. Thank you, algorithm!
Why don't you cast illusion of big shield (5x5 ft) with tiny firing-hole inside. You can shoot through the hole for whole minute, enemies woun't see you, so you have advantage and if they try to attack you, they will have disadvantage - but who sane would try to shoot small hole, when there are more valid targets.
I love this video! Thank you for the guide. Here's something I've been experimenting with: minor illusion can't make an object move, but what if you cast the illusion to be in mid air? If the DM rules that gravity affects it, then you have a much scarier fake creature, like a wax panther jumping on an enemy while the barbarian is attacking, giving advantage.
Great video and great job describing my favourite cantrip!! There is just one thing our DM and me are always discussing.. imagine a combat as an arcane trickster rogue, I created a crate next to the enemy boss. At the beginning of my turn I am behind the crate, so that the boss cant see me. Now in my turn I move around the crate to the boss and hit him from the side as my action.. would I have adventage here or not? Since Im hidden behind the crate it is kind of an suprise, isnt it? that would be a great way to get sneak attack every turn, of course combined with the mobile feat or cunning action to disengage and move back to the crate. Thanks in Advance!
Seems like I could give the gronk disadvantage vs my BSF every round by continuing to recast minor illusion as a wall between them whenever the gronk interacts with the last one. One attack per round at disadvantage vs my BSF feels pretty good at any level.
Quite late seeing this but I'm curious about something. Say I place a crate between me and an opponent with a crossbow. If he has a hunch that it's an illusion, and fires something straight through it, couldn't that just hit me and at the same time break my illusion? He can't see me, but I can't see him, so would the advantage/disadvantage cancel out giving him a good shot at me?
Another use would be to project the voice of their leader (if you've heard it) outside calling for a retreat. Or, a five foot square smack dab in the middle of the enemies of creepy, distracting whispers.
Maybe a kind DM would give them disadvantage on attacks or whatever. 👍
the crate / ice wall are GREAT ideas...except one major issue...the crate/wall is only 5 feet tall..so UNLESS you shorter than 5 feet OR you go prone, you will not be fully obscured. SMALL RACES FTW! (RAW, since there is no option to crouch down and walk)
probably dumb question (apologize in advance)
for you crate tactics, creating cover to obstruct view of the enemy from the paladin, so he doesnt provoke OA
what if the paladin's heigh is more than 5 feet
wouldnt the enemy would still be able to see the paladin's head, at least? and still could do OA?
I'm 6'2", I would have no problem hiding behind a 5x5x5 crate just by hunching over a bit...
Damn, sorry, i edited the question to asks about the paladin situation instead, because thats the one that happened in my campaign.
But your answer still applies. Yeah that makes sense. Crouching can just be part of the movement, maybe.
Cover does give some sort of advantage
Might make hit rolls more difficult. Like a -4 for a "called shot".
Cover does give some sort of advantage
Might make hit rolls more difficult. Like a -4 for a "called shot".
I'm not sure if I agree with your interpretation of what it means to "see through" an illusion. My take on that would be that you see the illusion for what it is, not that it becomes transparent.
Also great use, have a spellcaster keep creating threatening 'creatures' behind an enemy, allowing the rogue to sneak in when the target stops paying attention to them.
The spell description says: If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the illusion becomes faint to the creature. That seems to indicate that it becomes see-through.
Why not use it to enhance shadows in the room to make them think that creatures are moving up on them? Or a blade trap/ bear trap to keep them at range?
For the illusion walls, you're assuming the paladin is below 5ft on height. That's is not full cover/obscurement. but at most 3/4tss cover assuming is a 6ft tall regular guy.
Crouch, and your problems are solved.
Always find the people who say "no" to any interesting use of minor illusion are the same DM's who will go "All of a sudden a box appears in front of the wizard. Ranger's turn next...he shoots an arrow at the newly appearing box and it goes right through and straight at you. Does 18 hit? No, no disadvantage."
legit took me a minute to understand that you were saying "melee" and not "mah lay" i was like "wth is a mah lay character?"
don't you need a line of sight to make the wax halfling appear behind the enemy wizard? aren't all the people in melee blocking the view?
regarding hiding behind or inside the minor illusion box. It's only a 5 foot cube. It only hides them if they are kneeling inside/behind them. Most characters are taller than 5 foot, and unless the player communicates the plan ahead of time for the party to be kneeling at every turn, this strategy isn't working.
I thought that interacting with an object costs an action.
Nope
@@TreantmonksTemple Yeah, right there in the PHB under combat. "You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action." That's REALLY good to know.
@@joalexander103 By interact you mean PUSH a lever, BREAK something or just 'LOOK'?
@@lucasbrumdeazambuja9740 no disrespect, but this was 10 months ago.
jo alexander sorry for bad english but i really dont know what you mean by interact, can i pull a lever and attack or pulling a lever is considered one action?
I think this is a bit too much combat focused. The best uses of minor illusion are outside of combat, for example to enable con games, etc. Still a good Video.
The use of this spell outside of combat is limited by little more than your imagination. In combat, there's only so much you can do that will be effective, and I think making a video to help people effectively use this in combat is way more useful than listing off a bunch of random things you could do with this outside of combat. Though, not everyone has a quick imagination, so a video giving some ideas for it's use outside of combat wouldn't be bad either.
@@rageoftyrael I agree. Especially when you're on the other side of the screen. This video helped me to understand how to play the bad guys when a illusion is in play.
can I use minor illusion to make a chamber pot around an enemies head to block vision Skyrim style?
You can only make objects with minor illusion... Could you make a puppet like a marionette and get it to move?
Most optomized use is Minor Illusion a chair and squat on it to build leg strength.
I once cast minor illusion on top of a halfling rogue and he managed to get several sneak attacks while disguised as a barrel in a cart
Great video. This is exactly what I was looking for, thanks.
Minor illusion blocks line of sight, but it blocks it both ways, so it's like combat in complete darkness, advantage and disadvantage cancel out
The description of Object Interactions says you can kick a small stone. Does that mean you can kick a small stone at an object you suspect to be an illusion?
but what about this part, "If a creature uses its action to examine the sound or image, the creature can determine that it is an illusion with a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the illusion becomes faint to the creature." if a creature can just use a free action to interact with the image why is this line in the description? so is it a free action or does it take the creatures action, can't be both.
To item interact with an object you have to actually go touch it or physically interact with it. You can inspect it from a distance trying to determine if it's an illusion.
What treefire said, but also note that it does not state that the investigation or interacting with it are the only ways to discern it for what it is. If a creature knows it is an illusion, it can still see through it, no checks on interaction required. However, that's a double edged sword: just doubting it's real is not enough. Also knowing that knowing it's fake makes it faint can cause creatures to doubt themselves when they doubt it's real.
9/10 doctors are doctors
1/10 doctors are also doctors
9/10 Doctors think a walk sounds great.
The 10th doesn't want to go.
Doctor Who fans get it.
Treantmonk's Temple hahaha
Can a minor illusion be "big enough" to cover an adventurer?? I thought it gave you 1/2 cover, not total
I doesn't provide cover at all, but it can block line of sight. A Minor illusion is 5'x5'x5', so as long as your PC is medium sized, they should be able to block line of sight, though they may need to duck slightly.
@@TreantmonksTemple I have a really boring Dungeon master and he won't let me use this... he's opinion is that a medium character is 7' so I can't cover myself.
If I want to cast it the enemy will hit my illusion and pass through it hitting me instead.
I want a new open minded master....
@@jhonnywick3637 Yep, a DM can nerf anything with house rules. It's unfortunate when a DM thinks that making things less fun for players is part of their job.
You can understand me
@@jhonnywick3637 Yeah, that sucks. What about other people taking turns DMing? You can't be the only one frusturated.
Minor illusion is ok it has some good uses but, Silent image is better because minor illusion limits you especially visually by only allowing an object where silent image gives you way more leeway with creating more useful visuals.
That said, minor illusion comes into its own by combining this with silent image. So let's say our halfling thief is being chased by a constable. So we have the wizard first create a minor illusion of the sound of a crackling fire in the fireplace. Then he creates an illusionary copy of the wall and a visual representation of a roaring fire in said fireplace.While we could also have done the same but just depicting an empty fire place however, a guard might actually check up the flu thereby breaking the illusion but, Noone would suspect something if there's a fire going. So I like it's use but I think silent image is they way to go for creating the visual image aspect of your illusion and use minor illusion for auditory ambiance.
Wouldn't they still see you if you are a medium size creature? As the box or wall can be no taller than 5ft.
I cast the Minor Illusion of a banshee's scream next to the Spellcaster's ear, then cast Enlarge on the Paladin
Shouldn't the fact that the crate just appeared there after you casted a spell reveal it as an illusion to everyone?
Could be summoned - isn't there a conjuration school ability that does that? Your enemy may suspect it's an illusion, but he doesn't know for sure...
Take the feat magic initiate and the cantrips Minor Illusion and Prestidigitation
5 foot is about 1,5M so unless the caster its a halfling or dwarf or gnome, the enemys should be able to draw LoS (Unless they go prone, wich creates other advantages/disadvanteges by itself... rigth?)
TLDR: I think one could just crouch a bit to block LoS, but people that are too tall might have troubles.
I don't know about your DM, but People over 5ft can crouch a bit to obscure themselves. One doesn't have to go fully prone to effectively hide behind something as tall as a wood fence.
I'd rule it as blacking LoS as long as the character can reasonably be behind it completely. Most creatures are taller than wide, so I doubt the width of the minor illusion will be a deciding factor. Now if a person is 10ft tall? that might prove more difficult since they have to crouch till they are half their height.